I have just returned from the Methodist Conference which was held in Telford.

Part of the Conference included the welcoming of overseas representatives, admitting the new President and Vice President, Ordination services, Thanksgiving for those who have died, and then the business of the church. Finance, Pensions, Stationning of ministers, changes to our candidating processes, discussions on changes to District boundaries (which was overturned), and so much more. All of this is held within times of prayer and worship. I think for me there was also an honesty in where we are as a church in these times of declining figures and the amount of work placed on ministers but also those who hold office in the life of our churches, circuits, and districts. But we also heard of positive projects happening and the sense that God isn’t finished with us yet! God is with Us!

When Jesus sent out the seventy-two disciples he said their first words on entering a house were to be ; ‘Peace to this house’. They were to be ambassadors of peace and goodwill. Without peace nothing is possible.

Recently, I found myself listening to a lady who was telling me the story of her holiday. As part of this story, she went on a coach trip, but sadly the bus broke down on its way to the Lake District. This took place during the recent hot spell of weather.

My Mam was a Local Preacher and I have recently acquired some of her resources; some of the stories she used as sermon illustrations or as part of all age worship. One of them is entitled “Love will find a way!”

A man had three sons and bequeathed his seventeen camels to them. His Last Will and Testament bore the words, “Love will find a way.” Inside, it read, “To my eldest son I leave one half of my possessions. To my second son I leave one third of my possessions. To my youngest son I leave one ninth of my possessions.”

One of my favourite Bible verses is Micah 6:8: What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God’. God’s desire for justice is one of the principal themes of the Bible, running strongly throughout the Old Testament and being put into practice through the words and deeds of Jesus.

A celebratory weekend, in more ways than one! Firstly we celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the church, when the disciples received power of the Spirit and they were called to witness to all that Christ had revealed to them. In Acts 2 we are told that ‘the disciples were all together in one place, and suddenly, from heaven there came a sound like rushing wind and it filled the house where they were sitting…..All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages’. They went on to become witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. For some this is merely a celebration of a past event but we are the disciples of today and we too are called to witness. A role that is sometimes difficult and the path we tread can be dangerous but we too are empowered the Holy Spirit.

John 14: 23-29 – The gift of peace

During the Last Supper Jesus said to the apostles, ‘Peace I leave with you, my own peace I give you. A peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. So, do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.’ Lovely words from the Gospel to comfort and reassure us.